The secret to maintaining a youthful body lies in a healthy lifestyle, which includes sports in various forms. One of the most effective areas is aerobic gymnastics (the more common name is aerobics). The emergence of this sport took place in the 80s of the last century. It was then that television gave impetus to the development of this type of exercise, which included elements of sports and rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatics, dancing and morning exercises, and various federations and associations of a new sports movement were created. Let's try to figure out why women all over the world give their preference to this particular type of fitness.
Using oxygen
This is how the meaning of the word “aerobic” is translated. Aerobic gymnastics makes our lungs actively engage in work, accelerates blood flow, and triggers metabolic processes in the body. Such exercise uses oxygen in a person's blood circulation to produce energy. Aerobic exercise includes swimming, cycling, and long-distance running.
The difference between anaerobic gymnastics and aerobic gymnastics is that the emphasis is on strength training, short in duration, but highly intense, using large weights to increase muscle mass of the body.
The benefits of constant aerobic training are obvious: maintaining the elasticity of the joints of the body, stabilizing the functioning of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, increasing the level of endurance of the body as a whole. Thanks to its beneficial properties, sleep patterns are normalized, appetite is improved (here you need to remember about a balanced diet) and, of course, excess fat is burned.
Subtypes of dance aerobics
Jazz aerobics. The basis is walking, moving along the cross, as well as turns.
Latin aerobics. Has much in common with Latin American dances such as salsa, samba, etc. A special feature is the repetition of exercises at an accelerated pace.
Body ballet. Forms a thin waist, posture, strong legs. Practicing this type of aerobics requires a minimum level of choreographic training.
Indian. It requires a lot of energy, allows you to develop mobility, grace, teaches you how to control your body and present it.
Eastern aerobics. It incorporates the basic movements of oriental dance. Suitable for those who want to loosen up and learn flexibility and plasticity.
Regardless of the style, the elements of dance aerobics are:
- steps and running;
- swings;
- jumping;
- lunges.
These elements are combined into harmonious choreographic combinations, combining the movement of the arms and body. To choose the most attractive style, you can watch a video of aerobics elements of one type or another.
It will not be boring!
Aerobic gymnastics is rich in its varieties. The most popular type remains dance aerobics. Its benefits for the body are significant, because it not only helps strengthen muscles and lungs, but also develops a sense of rhythm and improves mood.
The choice is wide:
- high-lo aerobics;
- step;
- jazz;
- elements of hip-hop.
By choosing a dance style, women not only get the opportunity to learn how to move beautifully to music, but also relieve stress, lower cholesterol levels and keep the muscles of the whole body in good shape. Choosing more unusual gymnastic exercises, for example, kickboxing (or box aerobics), can be a good release for the nervous system. Such workouts are especially effective for those who want to lose excess weight.
Features of aerobic exercise
To conduct children's aerobics classes, special children's rooms and halls are equipped. It is important to have swings, ropes, a children's sports complex, etc.
The workouts are based on aerobic steps specially adapted for children. When drawing up a program and developing a set of exercises, not only the age of the students is taken into account, but also their interests and level of development.
It is important to prepare children a uniform for classes so that the clothes emphasize the focus of the training. These should be one-piece swimsuits without deep cutouts on the top. The child should be able to move comfortably.
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According to experts, children as young as 1 year can perform exercises to music. The duration of classes is determined depending on the age group.
For example, for children under 2 years old it should be a maximum of 10 minutes, and by the age of three it can be increased to 20 minutes. In addition, modern methods allow a child up to 3 years old to study with his mother.
Little athletes start with three workouts a week. Then the number of classes gradually increases to 2 times a day.
Sports aerobics includes the following acrobatic and gymnastic elements:
- Various types of push-ups.
- Demonstration of static forces (for example, the “corner” exercise).
- Body rotations in the air and jumps.
- Movements demonstrating flexibility and plasticity of the body (dance elements).
A set of exercises for each lesson is selected depending on the level of training and age of the children.
For example, a basic low-load complex is suitable for everyone without exception. When the complex involves a high load, the lessons include muscle warm-up, jumping, walking, running and combined movements of varying loads for the arms and legs.
Low-load complexes involve performing exercises with one leg on the floor. In this case, the amplitude of horizontal arm movements should not exceed the height of the practitioner’s shoulders.
With a high shock load, all movements are performed in short-term flight. In this case, the arms are raised above shoulder level and both legs must be lifted off when performing the exercises.
Unlike classical exercises, physical activity during aerobics is given to children in a playful and exciting format.
Who needs it?
Sports aerobics classes are useful for the physical development of children. Many parents bring their children to sports clubs even in preschool age. An experienced coach must be a strict but wise mentor, instilling discipline in a young athlete, because this is the key to the child’s safety.
Of course, an adult also needs to do aerobics. You can choose exercises to influence the development of any muscle groups, joints, and even organs.
Doctors strongly recommend doing aerobic exercise if you have heart problems, blood disorders, arthritis, hypertension or even diabetes. Of course, you should consult a doctor before exercising, especially if a person has a serious illness. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle or diagnose yourself with a lack of strength, constant fatigue and reluctance to enjoy life, then force yourself to come to the gym at least once, even if you are an elderly person. The charge of vital energy received during the lesson will make you return there again, and your body will soon thank you by feeling better each time. The main thing is not to forget about warming up and carefully listen to your feelings.
For beginners
Let's get acquainted with simple elements of aerobics for beginners:
Exercise with a ball. You need to lie on the floor, bend your legs, hold the ball between your knees, and place your hands behind your head. Next, we raise and lower our legs with the ball.
One-arm push-ups. In a prone position, extend your left arm forward, while raising your right arm slightly. Switch hands and repeat the exercise.
Rifles. Feet shoulder width apart. Next, take a step to the side and sit down on your extended leg, while the other leg remains extended to the side. Then change to your left leg.
Elements with fitball (elastic ball). You need to lie on your stomach on the ball, put your hands on the back of your head. After taking the starting position, we try to lift the torso up.
Goodbye goodies?
No! The main secret of healthy eating is not in restrictions, but in maintaining balance. In addition to the obligatory vegetables and fruits, the diet should include healthy carbohydrates (cereals, bread, pasta). Don't forget to eat yoghurt and cheese, and drink plenty of water. If you want to lose weight, you need to give up bread and sweets, and you also need to do exercises that lead to fatigue.
Aerobic exercise is a great way to keep your body healthy and your mood good. If you don’t like this sport, you can do another sport, but many people choose aerobic gymnastics because it doesn’t require a lot of space or special equipment. You can exercise at home, in a fitness room, a choreography room, or in any other room that has a little space for performing exercises safely.
Step aerobics
This set of exercises appeared in the eighties of the twentieth century.
Initially, this aerobics was created to help in the rehabilitation of the joint after a knee injury and consisted of climbing onto a small wooden box. However, the simplicity and effectiveness of these exercises soon made this type of aerobics popular throughout the world.
This type of aerobics involves performing steps to music. This type is very popular due to its high efficiency with a gentle level of stress on the body. This is that rare type of activity that is suitable for both experienced and beginners.
Let's look at the basic elements of step aerobics:
- Normal step. Leg lifts are performed in place.
- Climb. Standing on the platform, raise your leg high, touching your knee to your chest, then place it on the floor.
- Lunge. Lunge with one leg (bend angle ninety degrees), shifting the entire weight of the body onto the bent leg.
- Leg abduction. Standing on one leg, lean forward, then move your leg back and up as far as possible.
Thus, the integral element of this type of aerobics is the step, the main tool is the step platform. Each exercise is performed 10 times.
